Fender for sweepers



Dec. 1 1, 1928.

J. R. GAMMETER FENDER FOR SWEEPERS Filed Jan. 28, 1925 Patented Dec. 11, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT'OFFICE.

JOHN R. GAMMETER, F AKRON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE B. F. GOODRICH COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

FENDER non swnnrnns. a

Application filed January This invention relates to resilient fenders or bumpers for vacuum sweepers, floor polishers, and the like, which shall prevent damage to walls and household articles when such contrivances are moved rapidly over a floor and caused to pass contiguous to baseboards, table legs, etc. It has heretofore been proposed to use a tubular fender for such articles and to secure the same in place by means of a cord disposed intcriorly of the fender and passing around the article, but such fenders have not been satisfactory in service and are limited in their application to articles which can be embraced by the tubular fender in substantially. a single plane.

The main object of my invention is to provide a resilient fender for vacuum sweepers, and like devices, which shall embrace the exposed sides and corners of the nozzle, or other 2 floor-contacting portion, and shall be provided with means for anchoring its respective ends in the real or other relatively unexposed side thereof, thus making it adaptable for application to deviceshaving the rear sides of their nozzles, or floor-contacting portions, obstructed by supporting structures, flared ofi'takes, and the like.-

9f the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a erspective view of a vacuum .bodying my invention. Fig.2 is a perspective view of the resilient fender, detached from the sweeper.

' Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the sweeper nozzle showing the manner-of securin the fender to the sweeper.

' Iteferring to the drawings, I show at 10 a vacuum sweeper, which may be any of the numerous sweepers now on the market, provided with the usual elongated nozzlel l, open at the bottom to receive litter, dirt, dust, etc., from the floor as it moves thereover. A resilient fender 12, preferably in the strap, embraces the exposed faces, namely the front face 13 and side faces 14, 15 of the nozzle 11, and terminates in the rear face 16 thereof. Each of the ends of the fender 12 is turned inwardly at 17 and is formed with a knob or button 18. The rear face 16 of the nozzle '11 is provided with two openings 19, so formed and disposed with relation'to the fender 12 that the buttons 18 may be anchored therein to hold the fender 12 t'aut about the sweeper provi ed with a resilient fender em- .form of. a relatively thickand Wide molded-rubber exposed faces 13, 14, 15 of the nozzlell. The i 28, 1925. SeriaI No. 5,257.

manner of locking the buttons 18 in the slots 19 is indicated in broken lines in Fig. 3. Where the nozzle 11 is rectangular, as shown, the several corners of the fender 12 are formed with diagonal Webs 20 which seat in cooperating kerf's 21 in the nozzle 11, the arrangement being such that, when the buttons '18 and webs 20 are disposed in the slots 19 and kerfs 21, respectively, of the nozzle 11, the fender will not be displaced by striking the base-boards, table-legs, etc.

The fender 12 is preferably of a fullmolded construction built to size and shape of the nozzle with which it is to be associated. It is obvious that the nozzle may have'rounded ends or may be ellipsoidal in conformation, and in any such case the fender should be molded to a size and shape which will fit tightly about [the nozzle. Whatever the shape of the nozzle, the'fender in accordance with the present invention embraces the ex; posed faces of the nozzle and is anchored in the rear face, for convenience of attachment, "relatively near the outer edges thereof. My 1 improved fender is thus adapted for attachment to nozzles having projections on the rear faces, can beeasily and'securely applied, and, by manipulation from within' the nozzle, can be readily removed, should occasion require. I The deviceis susceptible of modifications within; the scope of m invent-ion, and I do not 'wholl limit myc aims to the exact embodiment ere shown.

I claim:

'1. The combination with a sweeper having a generally rectangular floor-contacting nozzle, of a vulcanized rubber fender therefor shaped before application to the nozzlesubstantiall y to conform in size and cont-our with theexposed faces of the nozzle wall, means v for anchoring the ends of the fender in the rear walf of the nozzle,=and-means at the corners-of said fender and of said walls, for preventing displacement of the fender.

2. The combination with a sweeper having 3. In a fender for a sweeper nozzle, 21 vul- 4. .A vulcanized-rubber fender of generally canized rubber strip molded during vulcani- C-shaped conformation having substantially 10 zation to substantially a shape and size consquare corners formed th diagonal webs, forming with the contour of the front and the extremities of the fender being provided 5 side walls of the nozzle, the extremities of with knobs for securing the fender in place.

the strip being provided with inwardly pro- In witness whereof I have hereunto set my truding portions adapted for anchoring the hand this 26th day of January, 1925.

strip to the nozzle. JOHN R. GAMMETER. 

